Day 32 - Mt Franklin

Tuesday 3 March

Today has been another quiet day of getting school and business work done. The kids have enjoyed doing their Maths, English, Science and a few other subjects. Once it got to 10.30 it was time for some morning tea so we enjoyed some of the snacks we had bought from the NQR store (this time it was some Red Rock Garlic and Lemon mixed nuts (never knew they made those!) and a muesli bar with a cuppa).

One thing we've noticed since being in Victoria has been the number of Crimson Rosellas! I remember these being in Adelaide when I was younger but I've not seen them for years. But we've seen plenty in the past two weeks!

Gorgeous Crimson Rosellas

After a bit more of a relax and read while I got some more work done we then had some lunch after which we decided to explore the the nearby walking track.

Mt Franklin crater - treeline in the distance is the top rim of the crater

Mt Franklin is basically the crater of an extinct volcano, although you wouldn't really know to look at it as it just looks like a tree-covered hill with a gap in one corner through which the road leads to a circular clearing in the middle. Hmm, I guess pretty much like an extinct volcano! :) The walk took us on a 1.7k round trip up the inside wall of the crater towards the tops of the pine trees and then down into the crater again.

When we say up the 'walls of the crater', don't imagine we're clinging from crags of rock on a vertical face here! The walk goes up a gentle 4WD track, and on the way down it's a little worse but still a comfortable enough walk. The walls of this crater are relatively gentle!

On the track we spotted so many interesting little bugs. A grasshopper that camouflaged so well with leaves, another unusual looking beetle and then quite a few orange lady birds.

 

Much nicer forms of wildlife! :)

Awww! :)

On our way back to camp we came across an older man and his 14 year old dog who seemed to be camping on his own so stopped to chat for a while. He said he'd camped here for about a week (has come here for the past few years) and meeting other friends who are all part of a amateur radio group. He normally comes here with his wife but unfortunately she passed away last year in October. 😢 So this was his first year with just him and his dog. We invited him over for a cuppa but his amateur radio friends arrived soon after so he was surrounded by old friends.


The kids enjoyed collecting wood from the nearby forest this afternoon so that we can make a fire to sit around for dinner. Thanks kids!

-- Greg